Scott Morrison sings during an Easter Sunday service at his Sydney church.Credit:AAP

On Friday Wallabies player Israel Folau will learn if his career is over, when an independent panel will deliver its verdict about his fitness to play rugby professionally after he posted on Instagram his sincerely held belief that eternal hellfire awaits drunks, adulterers, liars, thieves and, yes, homosexuals if they did not repent.

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The issue first entered the political campaign when the leaders were asked about it during the National Press Club debate last week.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and wife Chloe at a church service in February to mark the commencement of Parliament.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Shorten said Folau was entitled to his views and shouldn't suffer an employment penalty for holding them but was concerned about the "hurtful impact" of his public statements.

"People putting out on social media that if you're gay you're going to go to hell, you know, I get that's what he genuinely believes. But when you're a public figure, that has negative impact, a hurtful impact on other people."

So why has religious freedom become such a major issue in this election campaign?

Robyn Horner, an associate professor in theology with the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at the Australian Catholic University, said controversial topics shouldn't necessarily be avoided in debates about religious views, but should be discussed respectfully.

"I would say just be a decent human being and be courteous and respectful," she said.

"I wouldn’t say that people can’t talk about things, but you need to always think about the person, and in the end the value of the person and respect for the individual is important.

"In the Catholic tradition, you'd talk about the principle of common good, and you’d talk about human dignity, so that putting gay people in a particular light in the public eye isn’t very respectful of their dignity."

However, Associate Professor Horner said some people may be less likely to express their religious views about topics when societal attitudes had largely changed.

Israel Folau faced a Rugby Australia code of conduct hearing on May 5 over his Instagram post.Credit:AAP

"I guess people ... that believe in God as a judging God would feel perhaps uncomfortable," she said. "I think that’s what’s emerged in the public space, about how to think about gay marriage, and so they do feel they can’t say what they think."

Timothy Jones, a senior lecturer in history at La Trobe University, said the way the Folau case plays out - whether he is sacked or allowed to keep playing for the Wallabies - would be "instrumental" in setting a benchmark for religious speech in Australia.

"We don’t know how to talk about religion and sexuality and discrimination in Australia, or about religious speech and discrimination," Dr Jones said. "This is an example of the current confusion we have in society."

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Dick Gross, who identifies as atheist and has written extensively on religion, says religious beliefs about what is and isn't sinful become controversial when they are directed at groups that have faced persecution.

Mr Goss is mayor of the Melbourne bayside council of Port Phillip, a socially progressive area that hosts Melbourne's annual Pride March, and is also home to much of the city's Orthodox Jewish community.

"I think atheists are acculturated to criticism, we expect it and revel in it," Cr Gross said. "[But] if someone was to say something anti-Semitic about me, I would be instantly and justifiably upset.

"The thing about a pejorative lexicon is that the rules are different for every group. If a group has a history of being oppressed, then you’ve got to be very careful with language. If they haven’t, then we can be as clinical and indiscreet as we like.

"That’s where we come unstuck... You've got to look at each group differently."